Certificate of Singleness in the Philippines (CENOMAR)

The certificate of singleness, also known as CENOMAR, is a piece of paper assuring that you are indeed single. Yes, it’s actually a legal document in the Philippines, something you can request for. These days, anybody can masquerade as a single person; even married men or women, who have two or three kids and have been married for ten years, can pretend to be single just to get what they want. Of course, the CENOMAR can be one way for you to ascertain that you are not being fooled.

The certificate of singleness, known by others as the certificate of no marriage, is available in the Philippines. You may get it from the National Statistics Office (NSO). When you drop by the NSO to apply for a certificate of singleness, you will need to supply the following information:

Place of birth

Birthday

The number of copies you need

Why you need the certificate of singleness

Your father’s name

Your mother’s maiden name

Your complete name (of course)

Name and complete address of the person/s requesting the certification

Go ahead, get your certificate of singleness! And if you have been hearing rumors about your partner having a spouse or children on the side, why not ask him/her to avail of one as well? Either that or you are going to have to take their word for it.

Yes, in the world we live in, being single needs certification. That’s funny in so many levels, yet serious at the same time.

IF SOMEONE WILL BENEFIT, SHARE IT!

About the bloggerStef dela Cruz is a doctor and writer. She received the 2013 Award for Health Media from the Department of Health. She maintains a health column in Health.Care Magazine and contributes to The Manila Bulletin. Add her Google profile to your circles.

58 comments:

I have this friend who got married but few years later got separated. The church marriage was officially endorsed to NSO but the weird thing is, the husband gave my friend CENOMAR as parting gift. (She said her husband got connections inside NSO.)

I'm not an expert on law, but if you're married in the Philippines, even if you're married to someone else in another country, then your first marriage here is the one recognized by our government. In other words, unless your first marriage gets annulled, you won't get a certificate of singleness. (I don't think even a separation in the Philippines will get you a certificate of singleness since that makes you "separated but not single". :(

Oh dear anonymous, as to whether the government will find out or not that you're married is not the question... the question is, why are you even thinking of falsifying documents? If you do and you get caught, your "new" marriage becomes null and void!

Try to do it the right way. Go through the right channels. Don't ask how to do things so as "not to get traced". I hope you get my drift. :)

Three years ago, I went to NSO to get a copy of my cenomar, two of them to be exact, one for me and one for my ex-husband. Amazingly, the city hall misspelled my name by two letters, so when I got my cenomar copy my ex was married to someone who appeared to be me but on my cenomar I'm very much single. I didn't bother to fix it because we have been separated for 11 years now and he already has his own grown children. I guess in a way, it's God's way of putting things into perspective for me, I don't know. Recently, I learned that through his "connections" inside NSO because one of their "church of christ" mates works there, our marriage registry was destroyed. I didn't really cared anymore since I am very much happy that I can move on with my life as it should be :)

I badly need help here I need a singlleness certificate. But when I get one it said that I'm married I don't even remember that I'm married to someone I don't even know that guy it was like 10 years ago I need my my certifacte badly for my baby badly to let her father recognized him here in Japan

Ichigo, I'm sorry but I don't think I can help you. It's your government registrar whom you should be asking for help. There is nothing I can do or say to straighten out whatever mistake there is regarding your supposed married status. Good luck!

Hi, I am an American and my fiancee was married in the Philippines to a Japanese. She divorced this man in Japan. Is this a true statement- In this case, please provide the Certificates of Marriage (CENOMAR) issued by NSO which provide a chronological listing of all applicant’s marriages along with the applicant’s original divorce certificate issued by respective Japanese authorities.

Upon receipt of the above described documents, a consular officer will determine whether the evidences are sufficient to meet the requirement. Any help would be great, Thanks

I'm sorry, but I guess I have to repeat myself to get the message through: I'm not the person you should be asking this. Shouldn't you be going to the embassy to ask for advice on separation, divorce, and other legalities concerning marriage? Good luck!

hi..i have a friend and he is american citizen now. he want to get married here in the philippines. he is a filipino and he leave philippines when he was 20 years old. do you think he still need to get a cenomar from NSO kahit na american citizen na cya ngayon?

Hi there! Thanks for dropping by my blog. But as a reply to your query, I guess I'm going to have to repeat what I told one other person (the person who commented right before you, if you've read the comments) who asked me for legal advice:

Kindly take the time to ask an embassy employee or authorized representative. I'm not a lawyer or paralegal, nor am I affiliated with the embassy of any country, so any advice I give regarding the certificate of no marriage (cenomar) may be wrong. It's always wise to go directly to the center/ institution/ department/ company in question to get the RIGHT advice, yes? :) Good luck, Ileca!

hello stef, nice blog about cenomar. i just want to ask , my brother recently got married to a filipina immigrant in america, she has no cenomar but what she showed were thick divorce papers, saying she is still married to -------. I want to ask, does it make their civil wedding valid? the church denied their application for marriage , and advises the girl should file an annulment first or dissolution of her first marriage. my brother has cenomar and his papers were ok, its the girl who has issues about her status.

Hi, Hazel and Markie, thank you for dropping by! I hope you've been reading the comment thread - it just might reveal what I have to say when people ask me for legal advice, which is:

Please ask the embassy or NSO regarding your queries. Unfortunately, I'm a doctor, not a lawyer, nor am I an embassy or NSO affiliate. Even if I made a guess, my guess would have absolutely no factual basis. For important issues - whether it's regarding marriage or any other legal or non-legal matter - I think it's wiser to ask the institution/ department responsible for answering these queries, right? :)

Good luck to both of you and I hope you find the answer to your questions regarding CENOMAR in the Philippines!

Hello Steph,I have an American friend who met his fiance in Manila. When she applied for CENOMAR, it showed she was married. She's claiming fraud and filed an annulment. Is there such thing as marriage fraud? How long dies an annulment take?

Hi Steph,I have an American friend who met his fiance in Manila. She filed for CENOMAR and it showed she was married. She is claiming fraud and filed an annulment. Is there such thing? She claims identity fraud. How long does an annulment take?

For NSO-related questions (requirements, where to get the CENOMAR, etc.), please ask NSO. I'm not from NSO, so your best bet is an NSO representative.

For MARRIED couples who want to look single in the eyes of the Philippine law, sorry, folks, but I don't think you can ever be single here again unless your marriage gets effectively annulled. Filing for separation doesn't make you single; it just makes you, well, separated.

I hope the next person who leaves a comment reads this comment of mine. :)